Page 20 of The Alpha’s Heir

Katrina gave a brisk nod as she stood up straighter. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Her sharp eyes made a quick assessment of the room behind me, probably noting my unpacked bag still on the bed. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Need help settling in?”

She couldn’t have been much older than me. I’d put her in her late twenties. Yet she carried herself with a weight I was familiar with. Someone with far too much on her shoulders and the inability to let others down.

I discreetly sniffed again, wondering what I was missing. Things had been strange since my arrival and I was still learning their culture. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be a burden while I was here.

Mom said that humans didn’t eat like shifters anyway, so I would have to learn to be hungry for a while. It wouldn’t kill me.

Speak for yourself.

“I would like to know when… um…. Roman and Helen are coming back?” I prided myself on remembering his mother’s name. The councilwoman seemed nice enough, but I imagined it’d be difficult to win her over, seeing as I was here and being forced to marry her son.

Maybe she’d think differently when she found out we were fated mates.

Though I still had to tell him that.

“Roman?” Katrina’s eyebrows furrowed, but the crease eased as quickly as ironing out a shirt. “The family is expected tonight for dinner at six and you’re to join them. Don’t worry, it’s not a formal affair.”

Her gaze shifted ever so slightly to my bag on the bed again. I resisted the urge to step to the side and block her view as I glanced out of the window, trying to figure out where the sun was positioned.

The gardens below were a welcome sight, but the buildings beyond them and the angle of the house made it impossible to see the full sky.

For the first time in my life, I felt a sense of disorientation. “What time is it now?”

Katrina’s smile was pleasant and the last of her fear seemed to dissipate. “Quarter to two. Would you like some help connecting online?”

“Online?” I asked, trying to think back to what Mom had said about their strange customs here.

“The holograph TV.” Katrina nodded to the glass panel above the fake fireplace.

Television. I knew what that was. Uncle Jareth had a big black box we used to watch movies on when we had sleepovers with Aunt Coral and Aunt Ophelia when me and my sisters were young.

Thinking about the three of us together brought a pang of homesickness. My pack must’ve been well on their way back to Cerberus Territory by now, and I was here. Alone.

My heart fluttered again. I touched my chest, fear suddenly icing my skin. If Roman didn’t come back, would I get moonsickness too?

We need to get out of here.

“Oh, no, thank you,” I rushed to say, swallowing down my worries so as not to scare the poor woman who was only trying to help. “I’ll just take a nap.”

If you want to lie there going crazy…

“Are you sure?” Katrina put her hand on the door, stopping me from closing it, as sympathy filled her eyes. “We also have a library if you’d like something to pass the time.”

Thank the gods.

I sighed, blowing out a grateful breath. “You might just be my new best friend.”

*

It’s like Beauty and the Beast, I squealed to myself as I touched the rolling ladder, glancing up at the floor-to-ceiling walls packed full of books.

Except we’re the beast. My wolf snickered. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I take it you’re a reader,” Katrina said as she waited by the door.

I nodded. “I didn’t think you’d have real books here behind the wall…” My voice trailed off as I thought about what I’d said, hoping it wasn’t too offensive.

“Perks of working in a government house.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That shelf near the bottom has some lighter reading if you’re hoping to fill the time.”